Incoming Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday described China's Xi Jinping "a great president", in another hint that frosty relations between the Asian neighbours could soon warm. Duterte heaped the praise on Xi in a news conference in response to questions about a message the Chinese president sent to congratulate him on winning this month's election. But the long-time mayor of the southern city of Davao, who has been criticised for lacking foreign policy experience, appeared unsure of Xi's title. "I was honoured, receiving a congratulatory message from a great president, uh prime minister," Duterte said.
The Chinese foreign ministry said Monday that Xi wrote to Duterte after his victory, a standard diplomatic tradition for heads of state. China's official news agency Xinhua reported that Xi hoped the two sides would "get bilateral relations back on the track of sound development". Chinese-Philippine ties soured during the six-year term of outgoing President Benigno Aquino, whose government sued China before a United Nations tribunal over its claims to most of the South China Sea.
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